Chapter 57: Blue Trait
"Finally, my first mission payout."
Sarutobi Asuma's enthusiasm, which had been dulled by boredom, suddenly reignited.
"Mm," Yūhi Kurenai nodded lightly.
The reward from this mission needed to be divided among the team, so she glanced toward Seiji, who was walking over with the team's leading jōnin. She thought to herself—he probably won't be so strapped for cash anymore.
Honestly, when Seiji asked her to advance three months of tutoring fees, it nearly drained her savings.
After saying goodbye to the shop owner, the group headed to the mission hall to report completion.
"Here's your reward." A staff member quickly counted and handed out their payments.
Mission rewards were typically settled on the same day—no delays.
"Just over a thousand ryō…" Seiji pocketed the money.
Today's task was simply helping watch a store—easy work with decent pay. Unfortunately, not every day had available missions. There'd likely be a few days with no missions at all.
For reference, a standard D-rank mission usually paid between 5,000 and 50,000 ryō. Store-sitting like this came out to around 5,000 ryō total—which needed to be split among the team.
If it were 5,000 ryō per person, then for a 3-man team plus a supervising jōnin, it would cost 20,000 ryō. And that's not even accounting for the village's cut, which included platform and administration fees.
D-rank missions involved tasks like retrieving lost pets, babysitting, or harvesting crops. No client would be willing to spend that kind of money on such small jobs. Even 5,000 ryō total was already considered generous.
"Hey, Kurenai—want to go to Yakiniku Q? My treat!" Asuma jogged over, looking to celebrate their first mission success.
"What about you, Seiji?" Kurenai turned and asked him.
"I'll pass," Seiji shook his head.
A meal at Yakiniku Q would cost at least 200–300 ryō—just for one meal.
For comparison, a hardworking genin like Rock Lee had done 20 D-rank and 11 C-rank missions in his first year as a genin, earning roughly 110,000 ryō. That amount had to cover both living expenses and ninja equipment.
So Seiji was all about saving wherever he could—he still had a lot of things he needed money for.
In his gear pouch, he only had two kunai, three shuriken, and a ninja sword sealed in a scroll. He didn't even have any ration pills or smoke bombs, let alone more advanced tools.
"Then I'll skip too," Kurenai said, shaking her head.
"Huh? Why?" Asuma scratched his head, puzzled.
Why would Kurenai decline just because Seiji did? Was it just too cold today or something?
---
Several days passed, and Seiji completed one more D-rank mission during that time.
The rest of the time, he focused on training at home.
"Finally got it down."
Seiji successfully drew his chakra to his chest, converted it into Fire Release chakra, and pushed it through his throat—
Boom!
A searing two-meter-long, oval-shaped fireball roared out of his mouth.
"Now I'm ready for the Chūnin Exams," Seiji thought to himself.
[Trait: Apprentice Fire Release Ninja (White)]
Condition Fulfilled: Successfully used a Fire Release jutsu.
Progress: 100%
Effect: Increases your innate Fire Release talent by 10%.
Note: Can be upgraded.
Upgrade Path #1: Combine with [Chakra Flow: Fire Release (White)] and [Robust Physique (White)] to evolve into [Fire Release Genin (Green)]
This trait appeared soon after Seiji started practicing Fire Release, specifically when he began learning Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu.
At first, the trait showed 1% progress, but after consistent practice over the past days, it now showed complete.
Trait panel progression was a bit unpredictable. Sometimes it granted new traits immediately, while other times it required persistent effort to unlock them.
Seiji noticed a pattern:
Abstract concepts often triggered traits directly.
Physical training or techniques tended to require a progress bar to track mastery.
One thing was certain—just reaching the entry level of a ninjutsu was enough to unlock a related enhancement trait.
And once a trait's conditions were mostly or fully met, an upgrade path would become visible.
However, the criteria for trait advancement seemed a bit odd—it appeared to be based on overall progress rather than a strict checklist.
For instance, when Seiji completed both reading absorption and Foundational Memory, the system didn't immediately state that the [Early Graduation] trait was required to advance to Genius Scholar.
Yet back when he acquired the [Apprentice Lightning Release Ninja] trait, the system had instantly revealed a potential advancement path that involved combining it with a [Robust Physique] trait.
"Upgrade Path One fulfilled. Proceed with advancement?" An emotionless, mechanical female voice echoed in his mind.
"Advance." Seiji answered without hesitation.
At this point, the apprentice level was no longer sufficient.
White-tier traits offered only minor boosts. Green-tier traits were far more impactful.
After advancing, the white traits didn't disappear—they simply turned gray, as if they'd been locked. The boosts they provided, however, still remained effective.
The advancement occurred almost instantly.
"You've acquired a new trait: [Fire Release Genin (Green)]."
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[Trait: Fire Release Genin (Green)]
Condition Fulfilled: Attained Genin-level control over Fire Release chakra.
Progress: 100%
Effect: Your chakra network becomes more naturally attuned to fire, increasing effectiveness by an additional 20%.
Note: Can be upgraded.
Upgrade Path One: Combine with [Lightning Release Genin (Green)], [Genjutsu Genin (Green)], and [Medical Genin (Green)] to evolve into [Chakra Nature Transformation Master (Blue)].
---
"My first blue-tier trait…"
Seiji's eyes glimmered.
Obtaining two more green-tier traits wasn't impossible—he simply needed to upgrade his current white traits into green ones.
The conditions for those advancements likely involved aspects of yin and yang chakra.
"Medical ninjutsu shouldn't be too difficult. But Genjutsu…"
Seiji furrowed his brows slightly.
Since Yakushi Nonō had taken him as her student, she would likely provide a full training regimen.
As for the Sharingan's Genjutsu, despite being innate to the eye, they still required learning and mastery. Only basic techniques like Genjutsu: Sharingan came naturally.
More advanced illusions—Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes, Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change, Izanagi, Izanami, and so on—though exclusive to Sharingan users, still needed training and inheritance.
Without that inheritance, relying solely on self-study could take an unpredictable amount of time.
You could see the impact of that lack of guidance in Sasuke's early days—he only knew how to use the basic Sharingan Genjutsu.
Had he learned Izanagi in advance, the outcome of his final battle with Naruto at the Valley of the End might have been very different.